Projects

Since autumn 2012:

Continuation of the project "Operation, upgrading and maintenance of a net of measuring stations for the monitoring of surface waters in the Saarland considering the intentions of the Water Framework Directive" - on behalf of the Saarland Environmental Ministry in collaboration with the BUND Saar.

In 2015, the German Federal Instituteof Hydrology (BfG) realised an intensive measuring program for the Saar. The main focus is on the oxygen content of the water which is in parts highly affected by storage level control. These measuring results are fed into a special computational model allowing to assess the water quality in virtually every spot along the whole Saar. In addition, it is possible to generate so-called scenarios to illustrate the impact of e.g. the climate change or a reduction of pollution in the river Saar.

In order to support the BfG with this project, our group made continuous measurements at the tributaries discharging the highest pollution into the Saar, i.e. those with the highest concentration of harmful substances and the highest amount of water. The high temporal resolution of the measuring results allows to specify the exact pollution load of these tributaries affecting the Saar. This data is considered in the above-mentioned computational model.

October 2015 untill September 2016:

Feasibility study for the decentralised monitoring of combined sewer overflows in cooperation with the Chair of Automation and Energy Systems of Saarland University.

The aim of the feasibility study is the chronological as well as the qualitative and quantitative registration of the pollution from combined sewer overflows by an automatic energy self-sufficient monitoring station.

2010 – 2011:

Collaboration in the project "Evaluating implementation strategies of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the catchment of Ill and Theel".

This project is coordinated by Zweckverband Natura Ill-Theel with the objective of bringing together several scienctific disciplines to detect the origin and effects of all kinds of pollutants to the surface waters in the Theel and Ill catchments. By dint of this knowledge cost-efficient measures could be carried out to improve water quality as well as life conditions of waterbound species.

2005 - 2009:

Realisation of the project "Operation, upgrading and maintenance of a net of measuring stations for the monitoring of surface waters in Saarland considering the intentions of the Water Framework Directive (online monitoring of „at-risk“-water bodies in Saarland" on behalf of the Saarland Environmental Ministry (MfU)).By dint of the inventory of the water bodies carried out by every European country all water bodies which probably will not reach the „Good Status“ demanded by the WFD until 2015 are defined as „at-risk“. In order to determine of the exact dimension and to find out the origin of the pollution in the „at-risk“ water bodies in Saarland our working group has carryied out an intensive online monitoring of the concerning rivers for the Saarland Environmental Ministry (MfU) since 2005. The results of these investigations serve as base to plan measures which have to be realised within the next years in the catchment areas to improve the situation of the water bodies according to the demands of the WFD.

Participation at project "Lebendige Prims" for evaluating implementation strategies of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the Prims catchment. Link to project homepage.

2001 – 2004:

Management and coordination of the LIFE-project „Remotely controlled monitoring of eutrophicating substances from diffuse sources in the region SAAR-LOR-LUX" (Eutroph Monitor).

During this LIFE-project several mobile measuring stations were conceived and equipped with analytical instruments for continuous measurement of different parameters of water quality . These mobile stations were installed in two transnational river catchments (river Nied and river Attert). By dint of these measurements carried out in frequencies between 5 and 10 minutes the dynamics and the origins of diffuse pollution could be detected and distinguished from those originating from point sources.

1996 – 1999:

Management and coordination of the LIFE-project „Saar-Lor-Lux-Initiative for the protection of waters”.

During this LIFE-project an applicable concept was realised for a transnational online-monitoring system of industrial and domestic waste waster. Therefore special analytical measuring devices were developed at our institute to be installed in different industrial firms and sewage plants. All data collected were transferred online to the responsible authorities and thus available at any time.